UK seed mix

[blueelephant]

I thinking of trying some new seed and was after suggestions. Trill has far too many oats suddenly so I'm spending ages sifting bird seed to prevent getting a tubby budgie!

I was considering haiths. The bravo mix looks ok? The Tonic one seems to have a lot of oats in again but has a wider mix of seed? I'm ideally after a daily seed mix. My brother has just bought some and says it smells really fresh which sounds good?

We tried Johnson and Jeff's and it made Barney vomit so that is a no. It seemed very dusty to me.

I've also tried bucktons linked below which a friend gave me as her budgie wouldn't eat it. That seemed ok? - the details seem to suggest it's quite low fat?

Any recommendations welcome!

www.northernparrots.com/mobile/bucktons-budgie-food-with-spiralife-prod568204a/?sku_s=568204&src=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiApY6BBhCsARIsAOI_GjZCdG3Jb2ChTNlksD2guYOH_H0_9tpRygcktOQKMc8KeyYVRL5XVtMaAkJ3EALw_wcB


Also Barney doesn't touch is iodine block very often. My previous bird often had a go at his. Is there such a thing as iodine for water? I'd assume this would be given occasionally rather than daily? I seem to recall Marianne Marlow mentioning giving iodine in water a while ago?

[Deleted]

I have been buying the Budgie Bravo. It has oats but not masses of them. Before that I was just buying canary seed and the mixed millets from Haiths (as this gave the greatest variety of millet types) and mixing them myself to avoid oats, but currently they only sell large amounts of the separate seeds, and even with 4 I'd never get through it. But on a daily basis they don't get many oats.
(Pippin likes to carry an oat back to the one perch he sits on and chew it for ages)

As for iodine, mine all vary with how often they use their supplements. Yuki always seems to be at the grit and egg food, Munchy never touches them. Munchy loves his iodine block, the other two occasionally nibble.
If he nibbles it occasionally then I wouldn't be concerned unless he actually has any deficiencies.
Marianne can probably advise you more though, as it sounds like she's used the supplement.

[Hezz]

You can buy what they call iodine tincture from almost any pharmacy/chemist. Concentration - 25mg/ml. A drop or two into 100 mls of water once a week will give him all he needs.

[blueelephant]

Thank you both!

[birdguhl]

Hmm - I’ve just ordered a kg of J&J germinating mix as Haith’s is out of global which I normally use for soaking. I’ve also been unimpressed by the amount of groats in Haith’s. I’ve not used J&J before. I hope no vomiting will ensue!

[Marianne Marlow]

I used to buy budgie bravo, but found it had too many oats in it, so I now buy Tiptop which has a lot less.

With regards to iodine, I bought Lugols 5% iodine and I put 2 drops into 500ml of drinking water, which gets divided among their water troughs. I do this twice a week. The hens shred the iodine blocks but the boys barely touch them.

[blueelephant]

Well I have some Tiptop and Barney seems to be eating it fine (introduced two days ago). He was definitely puzzled at first. It smells very different. Like aniseed almost? I've never known budgie seed to smell before! I am guessing that is just fresher seed?

I have just switched completely from the trill but wonder now if i should have done it more gradually mixing with the old seed? I can do that tomorrow if there is a reason I should be?

[Hezz]

See what his reaction is to the new seed. If there isn’t anything obvious, continue on. If his poops become a bit loose, go back and mix gradually. Some budgies seem to struggle with a change in seed and others don’t.

[skysmum]

Iv'e used J&J for many years and never had a problem with it, there are no groats in it either. Ive never noticed it being dusty always fresh and sweet smelling

[blue48]

I bought Maltby's Budgie Seed Mix from Amazon. "Plain Canary Seed, White Millet, Panicum Millet, Yellow Millet and Red Millet Seed". They seem to like and it and I hope it's a healthy mix for them.

[Marianne Marlow]

My budgies love the tiptop, I had not noticed a smell. Maybe they put aniseed in it as their tonic seed mix does have an aniseed smell too.

How is Barney with it now?

If he's now eating it okay then there isn't much point in mixing it with the old one, but you could do if you want to use the old one up?

Feb 18, 2021 21:18:23 GMT blueelephant said:

Well I have some Tiptop and Barney seems to be eating it fine (introduced two days ago). He was definitely puzzled at first. It smells very different. Like aniseed almost? I've never known budgie seed to smell before! I am guessing that is just fresher seed?

I have just switched completely from the trill but wonder now if i should have done it more gradually mixing with the old seed? I can do that tomorrow if there is a reason I should be?

[blueelephant]

Marianne Marlow Barney seems fine. Happy eating the seed and no issues that I can tell.

Thanks all for the recommendations. My brother's birds are trying Bravo and liking that too. Mine came in a 2kg pack so only issue is needing another few birds to eat it all!

Maybe in my next house... A whole room for the budgies...

[Marianne Marlow]

I buy a 5kg sack once a month for my 8, but they do waste some as Iris drops some of the seed troughs up and down and the seed flies up and into the water or on the cage floor.

Hens eh.

Feb 20, 2021 19:56:23 GMT blueelephant said:

Marianne Marlow Barney seems fine. Happy eating the seed and no issues that I can tell.

Thanks all for the recommendations. My brother's birds are trying Bravo and liking that too. Mine came in a 2kg pack so only issue is needing another few birds to eat it all!

Maybe in my next house... A whole room for the budgies...

[ariella]

I have always used Haiths and never had any problems. I buy the 50/50 and the tonic seed.